Worlds Colliding
by Zarsla
Summary: People from our world in the Noughts and Crosses world with some minor differences. full summary inside. Genres: Friendship/Adventure with Angst and Supernatural, plus bits of Hurt/Comfort. A/N-6/17/12 I'm doing some major construction on the chapters so if you see a blank chapter or anything missing , than that chapter is getting a major facelift.
1. Summary and Intro

**A/N I do not own Naughts and Crosses**

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><p>Summary-<p>

Joanna is a Arch, but she doesn't know it

Reily is a naught, but she doesn't know it.

Two girls.

A pair of best friends. Jumping demenisions. Living life in a predjuice world.

One is superior, the other is inferior.

Secrets surrounds both.

Life changing events; phsyical, mental, and emotional are ensured.

Do you know who is superior or inferior?

Do you know what secrets surround them?

Do you how their lives are going to change?

I do! I know!

But if you want to find out.

Read.

Read!

READ!

This story.

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><p>Termology:<p>

Alyera (Uh-Lay-ree-ah)- The universe that the Naughts and Crosses series events takes place(With some minor diferences).

Mylera [(Me-lie-ree-ah) or (My-lie- ree- ah)]- The universe we (The readers of this story and me) live in.

Gemini Universes- Two univeres Side by side only hidden by a thin veil that both universes can see. Think of seeing yourself in a mirror, that other self is you in the other universe and the mirror is the only thing separating you two from noticing the other.

Emerika (Em-ree-ka)- The name of the new world in the colonial Alyera unvierse like The new world ( the americas) in Mylera. the name is kept when it becomes a country but it's slighty change to the United States of Emerika ( similar to the United States of America)

Feeder (feed-er)- a person who gives blood to Aces to drink.

Popet (Pop-pet) a type of slave/ servant. which is a feeder, a friend and all purpose maid.

Luxphyte (lucks-fight)- a plant in Alyera that creates electriy and other kinds of energy. It is harvested and used for powering everything in the world.

_**The Ruling system of Alyera**_

_**Arches (Ruling Class)-**_Dark skined people. Any one who is of Non Eurpeoan desenct with Light brown skin like sand, to deep dark skin, like the night sky. They have wings and fangs (which they don't have untill second coming of purbety) and Strong powers from the Physical abilities all the way to mental. As well as the seven elements.(Which will be mention in the story)They are rich ( or at least high middle class)) and/or Powerful and/or Famous(This does not mean they can not be poor). They tend have jobs that rule or influnce a county like Politicians or in the Entertainment bussiness. They aslo have jobs as world famous scientist, writers, journalists, etc. If they do get a everday job, such as, Teaching or being a Lawyer or Docotor. It's being a tutor or a private lawyer or a private docotor.

_**Crosses-**_ African desenct Arches

**Aces-**Hispanic desenct Arches

**_Krus _**(Cr-ew-s)- Natvie desenct Arches

**_Quans_**(Qw-an-s)-Asian desenct Arches

Derogarty names:  
>Blood sucker,<br>Life/ Soul sucker(s)  
>Demon(s)  Devil(s)  
>Life Killer(s)<br>Fredom Killer(s)  
>Killer(s)<br>Vampire(s) (worst of the worst names)

**_Duos(Common Class)-_** meduim skinned people. Anyone of Non Eurpeon descent and Jacks. Thier coloring is lighter than sand to darker than tanned white skinned. They have fangs but no wings. They have weak Physical and Mental abilities compare to aslo do not control all seven elements. They do control the earth bound four elements(which will be explained in the story.) They have every day jobs like teachers, lawyers, doctors, plumbers etc. They are the every day man. The only exeption are **_Jacks _**They are of nought and Arch/Duo descent. If they can pass as any Arch, Duo or a Nought then they are an Arch, Duo or nought. The number of **_Jacks_** who don't pass decline by 10% a year so by morden day in the story the term 'Jack' is barely knowed.

_**Aitis**_ (I-aw-tee-s)- Hispanic descent duo

_**Satis**_(S-ah-tee-s)- Asian descent duo

_**Katis**_(k-I-tee-s)-Native descent duo

_**Citis**_-(S-I-tie-s) African descent duo (rarest one)

_**Jacks-**_ Any one of nought and Arch/Duo descent who cannot pass as an Arch, Duo or a nought.

Derogarty names:  
>Mixies(s)<br>Half vampire(s)  
>Dhampir(s)<p>

_**Serves(Servant Class)**_

_**Noughts- **_Light skinned people. Any one who is not of African, Hispanic, Native or Asian descent and is of Eurpeoan descent. They look human. Thier coloring is tanned white skin to paler than have serving jobs. They serve mostly Arches and rich duos. They live in gated communties called Communes if they are not working. They are bougt and sold like their slave anestors. Though they are given a small salary and a house(getting a house is dependent on what kind of job you get). They do go to school (k-12) but do not college unless they require a certifaction for thier job (like being a nanny or a cook) and they only go to a vocational school. they work for life usually starting training between 14 and 18 years of age but can work form age 6.  
>Many noughts try and run away from communes to live with the hidden soicety of V hunters ( Short for Vampire hunters). V hunters have many agendas but the main one is to make Arches the servant class and to make noughts the ruling class. They aslo kill many Arches and Duos as well as their own who decide not to have anything to do with them.<p>

Derogarty names:  
><span>(any string of cuss words possible)<span> Blanker  
>Sub-Human(s) (Worst of worst names)<br>Terrorist(s)  
>Food<br>Cattle(worst of wrost names)  
>Freak(s)<br>Animal(s)

Other info:

Minor- by law in Aylera you are a minor untill 24 years of age as an Arch or Duo and 25 years of age as an nought.

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><p>AN Termology will be updated ever so often so check it if you're lost on a word or confused it may be here!


	2. Arc I:Part I

_**A/N I do not own Noughts and Crosses. **_

Chapter 1

Summer of 1797, Mylera

A woman with long braided blond hair is looking off a blacanoy of a small boat. A man with blond hair sweeps up behind her and bear hugs her from behind.

"Mommy" A shrilled child's voice called

A girl no older than 6 ran up with her blond hair flying behind her and joins in the hug with her parnets.

"My most two beatuiful girls right here in my arms." the man said

"Oh Jack. Let go of mommy and daddy, Amy." the woman said

"Yes mommy." the girl, Amy said

"Oh Jess, how I love you so." the man, Jack said

"Mommy why are we on this boat." Amy asked

The Boat they were on was small in terms in this time. It carried 150 passengers. 50 of them were European and the other 100 were african. This not only counted adults but children , babies and pregant woman count as double.

"You know why get new slaves." Jess replied

"I know that. But why do we have to get new slaves?" Amy asked

"Our old ones left." Jack replied

"How?" Amy asked

Jess and Jack knew how but the disapperences didn't add up. They look at each other for an answer.

"We don't know." Jess replied

"Okay mommy and daddy." Amy said

Jack pulled something from behind his back. It was a doll it look just like Amy with blond hair and it's blue eyes.  
>Amy grabbed it with eager hands and ran to the other side of the boat to show the other little girls.<p>

"Do you think what they said was true?" Jess asked

"No! What those slaves talked about was utter nonsense. We could never be their slaves. And if we were it be savaged and cruel and barbaric." Jack said

"Do you miss any of them?" Jess asked

"Just Adam, he was fine hard worker indeed. You don't see his kind of dectiation in anyone not even in the best of our men. His wife Emily, too she was good cook and always nice to you. She was expecting too. Woulda had a fine baby on her hands. But what can you do they were just slaves." Jack said

Amy ran and hid behind her mommy.

"Do you think they were right? A world were Blacks ruled and Whites are the slaves." Jess asked

"Just a bunch of huba ba lu." Jack said

A whte light filled the entire view of everyone on the boat but just for a second.

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><p>Summer of 1797, Alyera<p>

150 people appeared on the boat all on one deck. The boat had 300 people (and was no where near the mid way piont). 100 was African and the other 200 were European. The grop of 150 were sorround by the Africans. About 50 mean all deep dark skin well dressed and with rifles walked up to the group. A man stood at the front of this group.

"My name is Simmons J. Walker," He said "Now I now you Blankers are used to you guys ruling us but that was all a dream. You as well as us know that Blacks or by our proper name 'Aces' rule you whites or by your proper name 'naughts'. So you guys got about an hour of waiting time for some one to claim you if not your going to the slave part of the ship. Also any funny bussiness and you guys are game. Men help our fellow Brothers." the man, Simmons J. Walker

Some of the men that weren't in the group began to help the Africans in the group of 150 people. The clothes the group was wearing had chaged. The Africans were wearing th Europeans clothes and the Europeans were wearing clothes that look like night dressing gowns. a naught man stood up.

"All you niggers tell me were all your masters are?" He said

One of the men pulled a trigger and shot him dead.

" We have no masters. You do." He replied coldly and let his wife cry over his body.

Most of the people were praying to god and/or shivering in fear. A few were yelling curses at the Crosses. Those were the ones shot at first. The group of 50 had drop to 35. A Cross couple walked up to the group behind them was their 6 year old daughter. They walked right up to Jess, Jack and Amy who were by the balcony of the boat scared.

"Hello Mr. Jack. Hello . And hello to you pretty miss." the man said

"Do...do we know you?" Jack asked

"Don't you remember it's me, Adam and my wife Emily." the man Adam said

Jess gasped and her eyes went wided and filled with tears. She bolted up and began crying on Emily. Jack stood up and look at the couple with his eyes narrowing.

"'Kay, Adam so what are you going to do with me and my family." Jack said

"Simple, you're gonna work for me in my factory, Your wife will be my wife's new popet and my daughter's nanny and as for your daughter she'll be my daughters first popet." Adam said

"I'll agree on those terms" Jack asked

Emily and Adam smiled showing all their teeth which include to sharp fangs.

"Oh my.."Jess gasp

Amy stood there stuned

"What in h-"

**BANG!**

Jack flew backed in to the balcony railing and raised his hand to cover the wound in his sholder.

Adam shot his head back and saw Simmons J. Walker holding a rifle up.

"Now peace brother, I did this all to protect you and your family. You shoulda heard the words in his head. So evil and destructive. He had to be stopped." Simmonns J. Walker said

Adam just stared at Simmon J. Walker. Anger came off of him in waves and waves. His shirt rippled. His wings posied in postion to attack. He was ready to jump off and attack Simmons J. Walker. When Emily rested her hands on her husband.

"Calm down dear. Stop making a mountain out of a mole hill. Just call for a medic and go with them. No harm done." Emily said calmly

Soon engough a medic came over and Jack was rushed away with Adam in suit. Emily and Jess and Amy and Emily's daughter went in to the cabins below deck. The women sat on a bed and the two girls sat down on the floor.

"I'm Amy." Amy said

She hold her hand out. The black girl took Amy's hand and shook it.

"I'm Katrina but you can call me Katie." Katie said

Katie looked at Amy's doll. Katie grabbed it.

"Give that back." Amy cried

"Why do you have a slave doll? It isn't right." Katie said

" I ain't no slave." Amy said

" You're talking like one and you are. You have pale skin and horse food hair and bad drinking water eyes. The stantard look for a slave." Katie replied

"Shut up! You tell stupid lies!" Amy yelled

Katie hand flew and there was a _Whossh_ then a _Thack_ and a mark and then tears.

"Don't talk. To your mistress like. That!" Katie said

Amy ran to Emily's arms instead of her own mom's. Her hair covered her entire face.

"Don't worry I wasn't too mad. Here I'll make you a deal. I'll put your doll in my chest. Then when we get home my brothers, my sisters and I. Will give your doll a proper habbing. I'll also give you my favorite doll, Mary." Katie said

Katie walked over to her chest and open the chest up. She placed Katie's doll in the chest and pulled out two black ones. One had it's hair in cornrolls and the other was in twist. Both had on nice dress and the biggest, darkest, beatuiful brown eyes. One was as dark as the night sky and the other was as dark as hot cocoa.  
>Katie walked over to Amy and gave her the one dark as the night sky.<p>

"Her name is Mary. She's my favorite doll. She's aslo the most prettiest of them all." Katie said

Amy held tight to Mary. Her tears stop falling. She looked at Katie and examied this freindship she didn't want. Amy smilied at Katie.

"Thank you." Amy said

"Friends?" Katie asked

"Friends!" Amy said making an unwanted friendship

_Friends? Never, but she will reget ever making me her slave! _Amy thought

And soon a friendship and a hatred was born.

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><p><strong>9 Years later...<strong>

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><p>An what will happen next? what for the next installment

Also Check out the termology and There are two parts I am planing out for this story. The past which is two parts. The present which is the main story.


	3. Arc I: Part II

**A/N If you want to make this chapter fell like two or more chapters and/or you're to tierd to read the whole thing than read to any one piont of the !. Tbey are in bold and they are at the begininng and end of the entire chapter.**

**!**

Fall of 1806, Alyera

Amy bolted out of bed and into the living room/Kitchen. There was her family. Her mom and dad. As well as her older half brother. He'd disappered with the slaves eight years ago and when her family came here he lived with them. They men were sitting at the table as Jess was cooking the last remants of breakfeast. There was knock at the door.

"Go get it Amy." Jess said

Amy went and opened the door. In the door way was Katie.

"Hi Amy. Hi John. Hello Jack and Jess." Katie said

" Why, hello Katie. Should you be with your mom shopping?" Jess asked

"Mom said I could stay at home today." Katie replied  
>She looked down and blushed a little bit.<p>

"Ah! I see. Well then congradulations." Jack said

"It's nothing to be exticted about." Katie mumbled

"What? What, are you talking about?" Amy asked

"Um.. I tell you later. Come to my room after you eat breakfest. 'Kay? We have some talking to do. Well, bye everyone." Katie said

"Bye Katie!" Amy and her family replied

Amy closed the door and wacthed Katie run back to her house out the window.

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><p>After Breakfeast<p>

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><p>"Before you go, Amy. You must find out if for sure Katie's dad is getting a promotion and is leaving." Jack told his daughter<p>

"I understand why but what will happen to...m- us." Amy said

"You and Luke will go with them to the city and go to the V hunters wicthes school." Jess replied

"Wicthes school?" Amy and Luke said in unison

"A speacial under ground school for the V hunter sect known as Wicthes." Jack said

Amy not wanting to hear anymore got up and went out the door and started walking to the master's house. It was big and white with a back and front porch. Amy was walking towards the back porch. Her house was the closes house to the masters house. The two houses where sepaarted by a small field of tall grass. Amy walked by the big Oak tree. She stop.

She wasn't there in the field, she wasn't sixteen soon to turn seventeen years old, she wasn't in a ragged old dress anymore. She was in the tree in nice birthday dress and eleven years old. She and Katie were climbing up the tree. It was Katie's tenth and Amy's elventh birthdays. They were getting in last mintute playing before Their's (though more like Katie's) birthday party.

They were racing see who can get to the top first. Katie was talking nonstop about how her brother, John who almost accidentaly burnt her house down just a few days before. She just couldn't wait untill she got her powers. While talking about what powers she did and did not want and why. She stepped on a broken branch and fell back.

Amy turned her head around and saw her falling and for a rare fletting momment she felt it. She felt it in the super-nanosecond it takes a bird to falpped his wings from up to down once. The feel of caring for Kaite as one would care for a true blood sister. In that momment KKatie stopped falling and her feet gentle touch the ground. She look at her friend in pure amazement. Once she got over the schocked. She said Amy had won and began running back to the house. It was the first and last time she metioned it.

The feeling she felt grew rare and rare over the years and yet grew stronger and stronger ever time felt. That time was the last time she ever felt it that strong.

**!**

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><p>She made it to the master's house. She walked through the back porch and in to the kitchen. Emily was finishing baking some cookies.<p>

"Amy dear come over here." Emily called

On the table there was a plate of fresh baked (cooled down) cookies.

"Amy try some for me and tell me if you think Katrina will like it." Emily said

"Of course. Mistress Emily." Amy said scooping up some cookies.

She began eating one. She took a sweep of the area out one door way were some cleaning slaves and out the other were the two private maid in trainings to Kaite. They glared at Amy. Amy took as much noticed as she always does, nothing. The girls have been jealous of her from day one. They unoffically began traininng at age eight but really began a few months before their fourteenth birthday. They were jelaous because Amy's family was the 'Compaion' family. Everyone in her family was a compaion to some on in Katie's family. Due to this they got special treatment like eatting dinner with them and Luke and Amy getting birthday prensets or going to school. Then to top it off her family were wicthes and their families where not. All they did was spread rummors about them (Amy and Luke in particullar) and most belived them. exept for a few nought girls she really didn't have any friends. It's the only reason why Amy hangs out with Katie at all. And that makes the rumors even more belivable. Not wanting to think about that Amy answered Emily's question.

"These cookies are...Misstress Katie's favorite, as long as you keep them warm she'll be deilghted." Amy answered

"Thanks Amy. You should go up before she gets waiting. Oh and take her out side for an hour after that she can eat dinner." Emily said

"Yes m'am." Amy answered

Amy left and ran up the stairs that lead from the first floor hallway and to the bedrooms on the third floor. The second floor was for the few and sparing feeders, soon-be-hunted and the guest. The bedrooms where all high for flight capabilites in case of an emergancy and for comfortablity. Katie's was the second to last one at the end of the hall. The entire house was white inculding the doors expect for Katie's which was a lightly colored cross between blue and green. Amy knocked on it.

"If it's anyone but mom or Amy don't come in." Katie said in a slightly upset vioce

Amy opened the door Katie was sitting in the bed with a blanket wrapped around her. The two girls look at eachother as if they were looking at something they did not want to see. They saw each other the way two adults would and yet something in the other eyes made them stop. Fear of change and the wanting of normality.

Amy wanting to stop think about it. She knew she had to say something, anything to stop thinking about it.

"Why.. are wrapped in a blanket." Amy asked

"Closed the door behind you and come over here. Then you'll find out." Katie

Amy closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bed. Katie let the blanket fell down. Amy gasped.

"So that's what you were talking about." Amy said

On Katie's back was a pair of wings. Angelic wings, moist with red blood, black, lavender,deep viloet and shining onyx feathers. Blood was caked where her wings met her back.

"You need to wash that blood off." Amy said

"I...I...I...c-c-c-can't I'm to scared to...to...to...touch them." Katie said with her vioce broken

Then in a flash Katie was leaning in to her best friend and crying and sobbing a storm. Amy look down at Katie and felt it. That feeling from the first time she used her powers. The only difference it was strong like a hurricane wave in the middle of the ocean knocking down a crusie and it was getting stronger and stronger.

"Stop it! Stop making me feel this way!" Amy yelled at Katie with tears in her eyes

Katie looked up at Amy.

"W...what are...you talking...a-a-about?" Katie asked her vioce filled with crying and sobs

"This feeling of..of...caring for you but...but only more so." Amy said as she felt water slowly drip down her cheek. Amy frowned. _This is not good at all. _She thought.

Then a wave of pain hit Amy like a boulder hitting a building. Starting from the middle of her back and spreading thourgh her entire body. She felt her knees go down and the floor coming up. Then a thick curtain of blackness cover her competely.

"Amy! Amy wa-" Katie said before beind strangled by pain

The pain came from her back. She arched herself forward; her chest sticking out, her back curved in. A shrilled inhuman cry escape her voice_. MOM! _she cried in her mind, for any sound that came out her mouth was a sound no human ear should hear. She fell back on her bed in a fetal posiontion. Her last thoughts before the darknes was _God, if you are merciful will you please, take me away from this pain!_

Jess and Emily came in to the room. They suryved the scene. Emily called for some slaves to take their daugthers with them.

**!**

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><p>Jess and Emily sat in a dimly litted room.<p>

"What should we tell them?" Jess asked

"Everything, of course!" Emily replied

"Are you sure about everything?" Jess asked

"Well mostly everything, then." Emily said backed

In the other room the bed covers began to rustle and moans left from the people in the bed.

Jess looked at Emily.

"Guess it's time to tell them." Jess said

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><p>"MOM!" Amy cried out first<p>

"Amy please don't yell. It hurts my ears." Katie said as she woke up groaning

The door to the room opened. Jess and Emily walked in.

"Sweetie how are you doing does anything hurt?" Emily asked Katie

"Just my back. When can I eat?" Katie asked her mom

"A little later, sweetie." Emily replied.

"Where are we?" Amy asked

"Under the house." Jess replied

"Like the basement? Because this does not look my basement at all." Katie said

"We're under the basement." Emily said

"Why are we under you're basement?" Amy asked

"We have something to tell you." Jess said

They took a deep breath.

"The reason you both blacked out is." Jess countied

"The reason is you two are Linked." Emily said

"Linked?" Amy and Katie asked

"You two are linked. It's like you two being twin sisters." Jess explained

"Why?" Katie asked

"Because Arches and Duos imprint noughts." Jess said

"Imprint?" Katie said with a question in her vioce

" Create a link to a nought to control your powers as well as other things." Emily said

"So do Arches and Duos imprint for other reasons? Besides controling their powers." Katie asked

"Yes" Jess said

"Now, no more smal talk. You two are talking your baths and coming to eat. After that bed. In that order." Emily countied on saying

"Yes m'am." Both girls said in slightly tierd and pained voices

**!**

* * *

><p>A few days later<p>

* * *

><p>Amy and Katie climb in to the carraiage many things had happen since after the night Katie and Amy began devolping. Katie now looked like an true Arch with wings, fangs,etc . Amy had a brighter arua around her and seem more postive.<p>

On the outside, on the inside she was plotting how to make her _friend _pay and to make sure that even her grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren pay. Pay for what you may ask. Why for being an Arch, for having an imprint with eachother, for having her people as slaves (when it should be the other way around) basically for everything that Amy should have in Mylera but doesn't have in Alyera. Soon engough the answer came.

Amy and Katie where sitting next to eachother both had a window seat.

"Amy if you could, would you kill me?" Katie asked in a very far away voice

"Yes I would." Amy replied in an sure vioce

"Why?" Katie asked

"Must you ask? Because you are you and I hate you." Amy replied

"If we finsh college, I will let you go to Mylera, let you take me, and let us rasie our children side by side with no knowing of this world." Katie replied

Amy scoffed at it but deep inside hoped it was true.

"Why?" Amy asked

"A test. They'll go back but it be long after you and your grandchildren pass away. That and you've always wanted to go to Mylera."

Amy thought about it. The chance to live in Mylera and died there or to live in Alyera and died there. The choice was easy. She only thought of the Pros and skimmed over the Cons in her head when she answered.

"Yes. I agree." Amy said wholeheartedly

* * *

><p>202 Years Later...<p>

* * *

><p><strong>!<strong>

**A/N Finally I'm done hope you enjoyed and sorry for the long wait and please Review or I'm going to make the wait for the next chapter even longer. next part the presnet. I'm so exicted for the next chapter I hope you are too. More surprises and secerets are in store**

**2,586 words long. Woo hoo!**

**What do you think going to happen next?**

**Do you think The parnets of my characters in the presnet know are they as clueless as the children?**

**Do you think The Arches and Duos still have there powers and abilities in Mylera as they do in Alyera?**

**Do you think about this at all?**

**Tell me in very long reviews**

**PS I love long reviews. the longer the better. **

**Chaio!**


	4. Arc II: Part I

A/n

Hi,

If you're looking at the table of contents a bit confuse, don't worry. You're fine. If you didn't read the summary, than please note I'm doing a facelift. I've deteled a chapter and now I'm editing the other one. So Arc II: part I & II don't exist anymore and in there place is Arc II: part I. How ever it's being worked on so untill then-

Chiao!

~Zarsla


	5. A Treat for the Readers

Hello People of the world and people who read this fanfic I have treat for you!

Pictures!  
>go to the web site booksie<p>

and afterthat stick this after the com in the web browser:

**/young_adult/book/zarsla/characters-pictures/chapter/1**

And if that doesn't work then go to the website. Then type _Zarala_the search engine and click on Charcter pictures link.

For now there's just Reily and Joi but it will be updated and I will tell.

Ps tell me what do you think.


	6. Arc II: Part II

**A/N: First off, Happy Holidays to all (even if you don't celebrate any.) and Happy New Year.**

**Here's your holiday treat from awsome me. Enjoy. **

**I do have a warning about this chaprter and maybe the chapter after this. This has:**

**A lot of Cursing  
>Racism<br>Cruelity  
>Plain old meaness<br>Violence  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Fall of 2008, Alyera<p>

Reily

After breakfast, my father, my brother, and I sat in the small living room.

"So what's going on?" I asked.

"Dear, we are in another...world. A parallel universe, similar and yet different from the one you used to live in," my dad said.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's the way it is," he said.

I wanted to press the subject more, but I felt the need to change it. So I asked, "The differences? The similarities?"

"Similarities are where we are in time and place - roughly, the same era," Dad

replied.

"The differences, on the other hand...," my brother came in and then paused, "are like those in the Noughts and Crosses book you were assigned for summer reading."

I blinked at him. Joi and I hadn't gotten far into the book. We were still in part one, although we had read the series before. But what did he mean by differences...like it? Unless...

"Do you mean we're in a world where black people ruled over white people?" I asked hurriedly.

My brother and dad shared a look.

"You mean 'rule'," my brother pointed out.

"What do you mean, 'rule'?" I asked, almost outraged.

But before my brother could answer, the door slammed open, and a big black man appeared. He was wearing what looked liked a cross between a soldier and a security guard's uniform, and came lumbering towards us.

"Didn't you fucking blankers hear that fucking bell? I at least expect you to know when you hear that bell to move your blanker asses out there," he yelled at us.

We sat, frozen.

"Well, wait in the hell are you waiting for? A wake up call?" he roared again.

Dad and I rose and started to go out the door.

"Excuse me, sir , but I'm not a no-blanker like my...my bastard family," Charlie said in a slighty haughty tone.

The man gave my brother a suspicious look.

"Prove it," he said.

Charlie just stood and smiled a huge grin. The man looked at his teeth. He gave a nod of approval.

"So what were you doing here, son?" the man asked in a gentler voice.

"I had...had one of those moments...you know?" Charlie replied, with his head turned wistfully and his voice wavering.

"I understand. Is there anything you need?" the man asked.

"Yeah...could I call my parents? I want to say I'm sorry, and they're probably worried about me," Charlie said, with his voice cracking.

"Come on, I'll escort you to the main buliding after I deal with these blanker scum," he said.

They left the room, and I turned my head out the doorway. When they exited the house, Charlie was gone, but I felt something pushed into my hand. I looked at it. _A note_.

Then I felt it. A hard slap in the face. I looked up, and it was the same guy as before.

"Aren't you listening, you little blanker bitch? I don't like repeating myself. For all of you who didn't hear me, you're all from a world, a realm called Mylera. There you ruled. Here in Aylera, you all are slaves. Now, more liberal people use servants or serves, but you're slaves with little, if any, freedom. Understand? Good! You are to board this bus. From here, you'll go to the other side of the commune to the compound, where you'll either be retrieved or sold," he said in a curt and bullying manner.

We had begun to load the buses when I realised we were begin separated, first children and adults, then boys and girls. I was herded onto the bus with kids of all ages, girls on one side and boys on another. I got a window seat. A girl with black hair, pale skin, and deep blue eyes sat next to me. She was crying. She looked around my age, probably a year younger - fifteen or sixteen.

"Why are you crying?" I asked.

She looked up at me and said, "They told me I'm ugly."

I gave her a look between bewilderment and what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you.

"Then they tore off my clothes and began to beat me up. Telling me that I was nothing more than a fucking ugly pale as milk ugly little blanker bitch," she said.

"They?" I asked.

"Some girls who work here. A little older than me, I think," she replied.

The bus paused to fill up with more kids. I didn't say a word to the girl after that. The bus made a few more stops before finally pulling up at what looked like a giant football stadium crossed with an old theatre. Then I got a sinking feeling. And I knew we were here.

* * *

><p>Joi<p>

We ate breakfast in silence as I reviewed the earlier events in my head. Me waking up, our morning talk, going to get dressed, breakfeast being cooked, and now, eating. The one thing that kept replaying in my mind was what Henry said.

_"This world is like that summer reading book of yours...a world where blacks are the upper class and whites are the lower class." _

The explanation made me shiver even more. White people were the slaves, or as my parents say,  
>'servants', or 'serves', according to my brother. The only other thing beside that that bothered me was...was...the talk mom mentioned. When she said that, I knew it was something important, but for later. And not a good later, either. After this, we're going to a part of a commune, called a compound. I looked down at my food and realised it was gone.<p>

"Dear."

I heard someone calling me out of my thoughts. I snapped my head up.

"Come," my mom said. "We must have a talk."

That uncomfortable feeling was stirred up once more. I followed my mom up the stairs and on to the second floor of the house. We walked by a room with an orange glow. I peeked inside. On a bed was a woman with blonde hair, a little shorter than my mom. On a small bed stand there stood pictures of some kids and a man. On the other side of the bed was a boy. He had light caramel skin and hair that was slightly darker than his skin color. He turned around and his eyes locked on mine. They were green and with soft brown speckles around the pupil.

I knew those eyes anywhere. It was Charlie. _But what was he doing here?_ I stepped forward and opened my mouth to call to him. He shook his head as if he were saying _"No" _in a very stern, serious and slighty secretive manner. I felt the words die on my lips like shrivelling flowers. I sighed and tried to catch up with my mother, who oddly hadn't seemed to notice my pause by the room.

We stopped at the end of the hall, turned left, and opened a door. It was a sitting room with a fireplace and a portrait of two girls on the mantle. The picture looked a lot like the one Reily and I had taken earlier that summer, except the girls in the picture were at least two years older.

"You know, you and Reily look a whole lot like them," my mom said as she looked at the picture

I just nodded my head in agreement.

She sat down on a reclining chair, and I followed suit.

"There is a reason why people like us rule instead of noughts," Mom said.

"It's because in many ways we are better than them. We are _the predator_, and they are _the prey_. We are the vampires that drink their blood, the zombies that eat their flesh, the-"

"I get it," I interjected, wincing.

"No, you somewhat understand the concept of what I am saying. Let me make this understandable... Look at my teeth very carefully as I smile," she said.

I was a bit dumbfounded. I couldn't tell if it was an insult to my intelligence, or if she was just stating something as a fact. But I looked anyway. My mom smiled her usual three million watt smile at me, and I looked very carefully. I observed nothing but normal, slightly yellowed teeth - at first.

Then I saw them.

Two sharp, needle-point incisors where her caines should be. I began looking more carefully, and I noticed even the most blunt of her teeth were slightly jagged, creating a mouth that, when forcefully biting something, were a saw-like weapon - in the shape of a bite mark.

"Holy shit," I said, jumping up from my seat and backing away from her, once I had put two and two together.

My mom leaned her head over in an exasperated manner, sighed, and said, "Now dear, please calm down."

"Y-y-you...you...yoooou..." I said.

"Yes, I know I have a predator's mouth, and you have a child's variant of it," she said, patting the seat next to her.

I sat down, running my tongue over my teeth, and she continued talking.

"We don't tell noughts this but we, meaning Arches and Duos, are actually _not _human. Think of us as a subspecies of _Homo Sapiens_. We are the predators of them, and yet we can interbreed with them. Let me get back on track. I say this because eventually you'll began to hunger, to _desire_ blood. More specfically, their blood. So, yes, you will get a mouth like mine very soon. And depending which side of the family you take after, you will have the hunger from anytime, later today or not until a month from now. But I promise you, by the end of next month you will be drinking blood."

My mouth drop opened in shock. I then asked, "Anything else I need to know? Oh, and by the way, what are Arches and Duos?"

"Yes, you will grow wings. Your eyes will change to a more Arch color. Arches are people with dark skin, wings, and fangs, while Duos are people with more meduim skin and just fangs. Also, most, if not all, have little to none European descent, which is what noughts have. And Arches and Duos have powers. The first's being stronger than the latter's," Mom said.

I stared at her for a while. Then she looked at the clock and said, "We will be leaving in about ten mintues. Get your coat and shoes. And tell Charlie to do the same."

How did she know that Charlie was here?

She looked at me and smiled, then I heard my mother's voice in my head, saying, _"I know many things. And no, you aren't hearing ghosts."_

I just nodded my head, the easiest way to avoid another shocking lesson, and rose. I went to get my coat and shoes. After that, I entered the room where I had seen Charlie earlier. No one was there, but then the door closed. I heard a voice.

"What do you want, little sis?"

I turned around and was face to face with Charlie.

"M-m-mom said we're leaving and to get your coat and shoes," I said, still feeling uncomfortable about what I had just talked about.

"_Yours_, not mine," Charlie had said with a hint of venom.

I looked at the woman in the bed. It was Reily's mom, and Charlie's too, although it was hard to see it that way, since he was my older brother.

"Do you think I'm a bastard, Joi?" he asked.

"No," I replied, slightly confused at the question.

"Here, in this world, if I accept my bastardlyness and my tainted blood with grace, let your mom adopt me as her son, and renounce my half-nought status, I can be accepted into society. If not, I will have my fangs ripped out, all my other teeth filed down, my skin and hair bleached untill I look like a nought, and given a variety of herbs to not only stop my body from craving human blood, but force me to switch to animal, and the herbs will permanently sterilise me for the rest of my life. So, now I ask you, which should I pick to be: accepted, or a slave?" he said with, growing anger, and maybe disdain, in his voice.

"T-t-to be accepted...I guess, since you don't want to be a slave," I said with worry and fear.

"Thanks. You helped me make my descision," Charlie said.

"Goodbye, mom, I'll miss you, and I'll always love you," he whispered in her ear and kissed her on the forehead.

Charlie got his stuff, and we got into the car. We drove for what felt like hours. I was consumed with my thoughts - blood drinking, wing growing, and all the things mom and I had talked about, as well as what Charlie said - choosing whether to be accepted or a slave, to be a Arch or a nought. _Could a society be that cruel_? And _could I really be a part of it?_I sighed.

Then I heard it.

"We're here!" my brother Henry called out.

I got out of the car and examined the building. It looked like a football stadium crossed with an old theatre.

We began walking toward its entrance.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoo! That was a chapter. well I hoped you enjoyed it. This is fun. I fell akward sayingwriting this but I uh enjoyed writing this chapter especaily with the cursing (which I don't do alot) and with the whole venting/ranting slight anger filled Charlie sence. As well as the whole blood drinking/ turning talk scene with Joi and her mom. It was kinda fun. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed it. **


	7. Arc II:Part III

**A/N I warn you this chapter like the last has...**

**A lot of Cursing  
>Racism<br>Cruelity  
>Plain old meaness<br>****Violence  
>Descrpitive slight goreness<strong>

**So onward with the story!**

* * *

><p>Reily<p>

We exited the bus and were herded around the compound until we arrived at the wooden plank-covered back side. We entered the building through something that looked much like a stage door, complete with curtains and ropes and all that jazz. We were ushered into rooms based on gender and age. That girl I had talked to on the bus and I were pushed into room _8_, which a plaque informed us contained _girls, ages 13-18._ There were no chairs whatsoever, and the walls were white. The floors did little to help the plainness, as they were bare, wooden, and cold. Oddly, it was so clean that you could see your reflection in it. We were packed in like cattle herded into an area two sizes too small.

Then, the lights went out. Girls shrieked as if they were in a cheesy horror movie and were about to be killed off. We stood in darkness for what felt like hours. The lights came back on after a while, and the door opened. Arch girls stood in the hallway.

"Listen, you little blanker bitches, you will come with either one of us. I'm Diana and this is Artemis and this is Baset," one girl said, and pointed consecutively to the girl on her left and then the one on her right.

"Everyone whose last name starts with A to H is with me, names from I to P are with Diana, and names from Q to Z go with Baset," the girl named Artemis said.

We shuffled out of the room, and followed one of the girls. The same girl that had sat next to me was with me once again.

"What's your name?" I asked

"Ruby. Ruby Carter. And you?" Ruby said

She had stopped crying only a little while ago, and her face was heavily tearstained.

"Reily Taylor," I replied.

"Your full name?" she pressed.

I gave her a slightly confused look. She sighed, exasperated.

"The girls – the ones who made me cry - told me that all noughts are named after something that can be physically owned, like a gem or a plant," she said, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Oh. It's Reinstone," I said.

Ruby nodded. Before I could get another word in, Baset said.

"Okay, you fucking blankers, I want your asses in there. After that, you are to strip down bare!"

We stood there like deer in the headlights.

"I did not just fucking say that for my fucking self! I said that so you would take your fucking blanker bitch asses in there right now!" she yelled

We went into a room identical to the previous one, but bigger. I looked around and noticed the other girls were getting undressed. With trembling hands, I began to strip down as well. Baset came back in and said something that shouldn't be said about us under her breath. She brought worn-out white gowns covered in patches, dirt streaks, and bloodstains, and shorts in the same condition. She then began issuing them out to us.

Ruby came bouncing over to me with a girl who looked around my age, maybe even older – seventeen or eighteen years. The girl had red hair and hazel eyes, very similar to my brother Charlie.

"Hey, Reily. This is Chrys," Ruby said

"It's short for Chrysanthemum," Chrys said.

Baset began to usher us back to the previous room. There were a lot less girls and a whole lot more space. Ruby and Chyrs had gone to talk to some other girls, exchanging stories and debating whose trip here had been better. I looked down at my hand. The note was still there. It hadn't left my hand since I got it, but I hadn't looked at it yet. I opened the note and began to read.

_Dear Mom, Dad, and Reily,_

_I love you guys with all my heart. I just had to get this off my chest. Mom, Dad, I know that you already know this, but I have to tell Reily. _

_Reily, I have kept this from you long enough. As you know, we only share one parent, and that's mom. My birth dad, on the other hand, is Brain Iman - Henry and Joi's dad. Due to my mixed heritage, I am forced to make a choice - to be accepted by society, or to be shunned and made a slave for the rest of my life. I'm so sorry to say that I just couldn't be a slave. After struggling with what I am for so many years, it would be too painful both physically and emotionally, and instead I choose to be an Arch, with all that it entails._

_Reily, I must warn you. Arches are dark skinned people, and Duos are medium skinned people. You know the rest. Both Arches and Duos drink your blood. Well, they drink all noughts' blood. You need to know this now. Someday soon, you will be fed upon. Don't trust Arches or Duos. Not your teachers, not Joi, and definitely not me. Don't ask why, just do it._

_I love you guys. And have to say that I am so sorry about this. I really don't want to renounce any of you. But if I want to be accepted, if I want to survive, I must do this. So, goodbye and farewell. I love you all very much._

_Signed, your loving son and brother, Charles Taylor-Iman_

I felt the tears spill over and roll down my cheeks. My chest rose up and down, heavy with sobs. My throat felt tight and dry.

"Are you Reinstone Amethyst Taylor?" a voice asked.

I looked up. It was an Arch girl who looked about ten. I nodded my head.

"Come with me," she said.

I got up, still sniffling, and followed her to a sign next to an entrance, labeled _'Retrieved Slaves'_. The door opened, and I was in a room that was the size of a penthouse apartment.

"You'll wait here to be retrived by your master. You'll have to wait until the auction over, though," the girl said and left.

I slid my back down the wall, sat on the floor, and cried.

* * *

><p>Joi<p>

We followed mom and dad to the front entrance, and entered the lobby. The front desk had booths like those at a racetrack. They were paper white. My parents walked to a desk and began to get Henry, Charlie, and me passes.

"Hey, little sis," Charlie said to me.

"Yeah?" I replied, still a bit wary from his "little" meltdown.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I was just...stressed," Charlie said.

"It's okay," I said.

"Is it your first time here?" I heard the man in the booth ask.

I turned toward him. He was Arch, and his smile showed all his teeth - like how an adult predator will show its teeth to a young child.

"Y-y-yeah," I stuttered.

"Do you know what happens here?" he asked.

I shook my head no. He chuckled slightly he smiled again.

"Well, then, you're in for a surprise," he said.

If looks could kill, my father's expression would be a homicide.

Then I felt a hand grab me by the wrist, and we were walking away. I saw him waving goodbye and grinning. I looked up at who was holding my wrist. It was Charlie. He looked down at me and we went to take our seats. The building looked like a football stadium on the outside, but like a giant movie theater on the inside. It had at least four or five enormous rooms. We entered the one marked _D_, and took our seats near the front of the middle section. We had a good view of the man who came on stage. He was a Duo and looked like he was in his mid-forties. I began to feel uncomfortable.

"Welcome! My name is Tim, and I'll be your auctioneer today," he said.

_Auctioneer? What the fuck?_

"Henry, we are we exactly?" I asked in a whisper.

"We are at a serve auction," Henry said.

_Uh..._

_"It's just what you think,"_ Henry said in my head.

I stared at him.

_"Yes, I can talk telepathically. I've had my powers for years now. When you want to respond, just think at me,"_ he continued.

_"I don't feel up to talking,"_ I replied in a thought.

_"Okay,"_ he thought back with a shrug.

I looked straight ahead as adult noughts came upstage. Various adult Arches and Duos bid on them. People were popping up out of nowhere thinking that someone else coming was going to steal a nought they wanted, and offer an obscene amount of money that may or may not seal the deal with the auctioneer. This went on until they got to the teenagers and kids.

I watched them bring a boy on stage. He was fourteen and had black hair and green eyes. He was kind of cute, I thought.

Then I smelled it.

The sweetest thing in the world.

I could taste it on my tongue. I closed my eyes, basking in the feeling. I opened my eyes again and I could see his pulse pumping. I could hear the blood in his veins. My stomach curled up on itself. I looked straight at the floor. When I felt better, I looked back up. Big mistake. One look at the boy up there and it was that same sensation all over again. I got up and bolted to the nearest restroom. I entered the first open stall I could find and puked up my entire breakfast. I sat and took a few deep breaths. I got up and I felt hunger twist my stomach inside out. My throat felt hot and dry, and I was thirsty. I ran to the sink to get a drink of water. I felt a pair of hands grab my wrists.

"Let go!" I screamed, trying to wiggle out of the person's grasp.

"It's me, sweetheart." I heard my mom's voice in my ear.

I stopped struggling.

"You can't have any water, and no food, either. It'll make the hunger even worse," she said

"Then what do I do?" I asked meekly.

"After the auction, you will get to feed. For now, chew some gum and don't swallow it," she answered.

I made some sounds of protest, but mom handed me a stick of gum. We left the bathroom and went back. I sat down and tried hard to block out any thoughts of noughts and their blood. While I sat there, feeling my teeth change, my parents, more specifically my dad, got some servants. After what felt like a millennium, we got up and left. While my dad and Henry went to get our new servants, Mom, Charlie and I went to the retrieval station.

The retrieval station was behind the stage. We entered what looked like a doctor's office waiting room. Sterile, clean, bare white walls, hard seats, bland TV, and really boring magazines. The only thing that made the magazines different was that they were filled with Archs and Duos. They showed all their predator-like beauty in some of the oddest ads. There was one cigarette ad that compared Predators (Arches) and Prey (noughts) highlighting the good predator characteristics in Arches and the unfavorable prey characteristics in noughts. It was like a horror movie, and so racist against noughts. But it was the perfect ad. It boosted sales by saying who was in charge and why the other wasn't, while highlighting certain traits and comparing each type to cigarette brands.

We waited until some lady called my mom's name, and we followed her to a room. It was a cross of a business office and a doctor's examination room. It had a few seats in front of a desk and a chair behind a desk. The lady began asking my mom a lot of questions and telling her to fill out forms. I observed the flow of human traffic up and down the halls – mostly Archs and Duos walking to a room or completely exiting the building. Now and then, noughts walked past, always following some Arches or Duos, and always in the same dirty clothes as the people in the auction wore and they had some high tech collars around their necks. Every time a nought walked past I turned my eyes away and waited out the stomach curdling, sweet smelling sensation. I also tried to avoid licking my teeth, out of fear of cutting my own tongue. The lady sent an intern away to get our servants. The girl came back a few minutes later. My stomach did a slight flip, and my nose was hit with the worst smell ever. I looked up and my eyes locked up with hers.

It was Reily.

Her green eyes seemed darker and her blonde hair seemed dirty. She was wearing the same clothes as people in the auction, and she had the same collar around her neck. She gave me a half-hearted, sad smile, and I returned it.

"Come along, we have much to do," Mom said.

We followed behind her like cattle. We met up with dad and Henry in front of room _D_. Behind them was a procession of noughts.

"Dearie, can the kids' house servants come with us?" Mom asked.

"They are coming home with us," Dad said, confused.

"No, with us," Mom countered, gesturing to us.

"Yeah, sure," Dad said.

Six kids stepped out - two girls and four boys. The boys could have been brothers. They all had the same white-blond hair and dark blue eyes. One girl had black hair and dark blue eyes, and the other had red hair and hazel eyes, much like Charlie's. The sweet sensation filled my mouth and nose. _Thank god I don't drool._

Mom half-led, half-ushered us to a room at the back of the compound. There was a giant door, and on it was scrawled in dried blood 'Feeders'.

"Uh... I don't want to go in there, mom," I said.

"Yeah... Me too," Charlie said.

"Me...three," Henry added.

"Well, then, we can wait until we get home. Which, remember, is a two hour drive," she said with a smile.

We mumbled our okays, and the door was opened. The room, if you could call it that, was filled with walk-in closets. There was a receptionist's desk. Behind it sat a Duo, who signed us in and ushered us each to a small room. Mine held a girl around twenty. She had brown hair, golden brown eyes, and a California tan. In the doorway stood Reily and the two other girls. I did not want to drink anyone's blood in front of anyone else.

My stomach did a turn and a flip. It became the roaring seas. A storm of acids and gastric juices stirred inside of me. My nose was overridden with the most wonderful, pleasant smell in the entire universe. My throat became the driest, hottest thing in the world. I was thirsty. I was hungry. The girl patted the seat next to her. She smiled. The veins in her throat pulsed with the promise of the richest, tastiest food in the world. As I got closer it began to overwhelm me. I wanted it to stop. It had to. There was only one way to end it. She was still smiling. It was kind of creepy. She looked high and crazy. My head moved closer to her offering. Her neck in all its glory. It glowed like the sun after a cold and dark winter. I opened my mouth.

And I bit down.

Once,

twice,

three times.

Then the blood rushed into my mouth like a geyser. Sweet, hot, warm, delicious blood. Screams erupted behind me, and it wasn't from the girl. Then the blood slowed. Soon, it was only trickling, then…nothing. The body hit the floor with a THUD as I let go of it.

Silence filled the room.

Then screams erupted, again, filling the room past maximum capacity. The shrieks were horror movie cliché.

"Will you guys shut the hell up." A vioce screamed

I turned around and my eyes met the only person who wasn't screaming. Charlie. He smiled a simple smile as he wiped the blood off my mouth and hands. I couldn't fend the sobs off any longer. I buried my head in his chest and cried. It wasn't an overdramatic, far-fetched cry. Just a silent cry, with a soft, almost nonexistent sob now and then.

"Shh... shh... shh..." he said, trying to calm me down.

"It's okay. The first time is always the hardest," he comforted me.

"Let's go home."

He took my hand and led me out the door of the feeding room, back around to the front of the compound, and out to the parking lot. All the while the servants and Reily trailed behind us. They were deathly silent. Every now and then I turned my head back to make sure they were still behind us. Every time, their eyes turned to the ground, and they didn't look up at me or Charlie.

When we made it to the parking lot, we went straight to our car. All the servants except for two got in one of the two hooked-up beds. Reily and one boy went to the seats in the very back of the car. I sat down and buckled my seat belt. I leaned my head on the window and fell asleep,

* * *

><p><strong>AN Three words for ya...**

**Longest chapter eva!**

**3266 words long. Yeah!**

**Anyway what do you think about these last two chapters. It gets more intesnse and even more... odd. So stay tuned. Untill later.**

**~Zarsla**


	8. Arc II: Part IV

**a/n**

**A lot of Cursing  
>Racism<br>Cruelity  
>Plain old meaness<br>Violence  
>Descrpitive slight goreness<strong>

* * *

><p>Alyera, Fall of 2008<p>

Reily

When we made it home, we exited the car in a quiet, mouselike way - or the noughts did, that is. The house was filled with the scent of fresh food. I turned my head to the kitchen and saw a woman cooking there.

My mom.

"Mom!" I cried out in shock and growing joy. I felt my feet shuffle forward a little.

Joi's dad shot a look at me. It was a mix between scolding and threatening. I felt my breath catch in my throat, and I stepped back into line.

We were lined up against a wall. I noticed there were a lot of us, more than I had thought - at least twenty, if not more. Joi's dad began to put us into two groups. The second group had less. I was in the second group, along with the few teenagers that Joi's parents had gotten.

"You guys," Joi's dad began, pointing at the first group, "will be working in the luxphyte fields. You must obey every word that Simone and his wife, Marji, say. If not, you will not see the light of day again, and that's Simone and Marji," he finished while pointing at a couple with brown hair and hazel-blue eyes.

He turned around and looked at us, doing a clichéd vampire spin. And boy, did it work. He cocked his head to the side and smiled, his fangs slightly showing.

I'm going to die, were the only thoughts in my head.

_No, you're not, he isn't going to kill you. He's just...keeping you in line._

I looked up and saw Charlie staring straight at me.

_Relax. He's going to talk to you in three...two...one...now._

Joi's dad smiled again, this time without showing his teeth.

"You guys will be working here in the house as servants. You seven," he pointed to me and the other teenagers, "will be training under Caspia and Alex." He pointed to my parents, who were now talking in the kitchen, and with that, he left.

"Cassie, when you're done, meet me in the second guest room." Joi's mom's voice creeped out of nowhere.

"Joi, come along," Joi's mom said.

They ascended the stairs and began making their way down the hall. My dad came over and whisked the boys away, out to the fields. That left me, Ruby, Chyrs, and my mom alone in the kitchen.

"Girls," my mom began.

We snapped our heads up and looked at her. We were sitting on stools by a countertop, where Mom was putting cookies out to cool down.

"What's the matter?" she questioned.

"Why? Why are we slaves?" Ruby cried out.

Mom sighed as she began to dry her hands.

"Do you really wish to know?" my mom asked.

We looked at each other.

"Yes!" we said simultaneously.

"Because...we are the prey. We are the weakest compared to our Duo and Arch counterparts. Because we are seen as food. Those, my dears are the reasons why," Mom answered.

We just stared at her.

"How come they're so mean?" Ruby asked.

"Who?" my mom responded.

"The Arches and Duos," Ruby answered.

"To keep the fragile balance of society in order," Mom replied.

"Casspia!"

My mom's name rang through the house.

"Come on, girls. Let's go," she said

Ruby and Chrys ran ahead of us.

"Reily," My mom's voice stopped me

I turned around, and she looked straight at me. My mom was not a tall woman, at five foot zero*. I was taller by three inches**. Yet she was able to look at me and make me feel as if I was a young child.

"I have to warn you."

"What?" I said, confused.

"Promise me, no matter what, you'll never turn your back on Joi. No matter how much you end up hating or disliking her. You will never turn your back. Promise me," my mom said with rising urgency.

"I...I promise," I replied.

We dashed up the stairs and caught up with Ruby and Chyrs. We entered a large guest room. It was the size of a small apartment. It had a huge TV, and across from it was a bed the same size of the television. On the mattress was a woman. Her hair was braided all the way to her back. She wore an elegant yet very casual dress. Then I saw them.

A pair of gold-highlighted, angelic black wings protruded from her back. She turned her head towards us and smiled.

It was Joi's mom.

"Cassia. Take out Joi's hair, then wash it. After that, I'll run a hot comb through it," Joi's mom said.

I didn't see Joi anywhere.

"I'm getting my hair done today?" Joi asked.

Her head popping up from the other side of the bed. You could tell form how she was straining her neck she was sitting on the floor.

"Yes, at six o'clock," Joi's mom replied.

"Helena, do you mind if the girls do it?" Mom asked.

"I don't mind, as long as you help them," Joi's mom replied

"What would you like to watch, Miss Joi," Mom asked.

"Hmm...how about a bad movie?" Joi suggested.

"A bad movie?" Ruby and Chrys said sound really confused

"Yeah, a stupid or corny sci-fi, thriller, or horror movie," Joi elaborated.

Soon enough, we were sitting on the floor, watching a "bad movie" called 'Tremors'. Our hands were in Joi's hair, taking out her braids.

* * *

><p>Joi<p>

The morning sun peered through the window.

"Wake up, you lazy bum," a voice barked at me.

I looked out from under the covers – it was Charlie. He was dressed plainly in a white t-shirt and jeans. I just stared at him, taking everything in.

"So, why's your hair in a mess?" he asked.

I reached my hand to my hair to find the scarf I tied on last night not on my head. I leaned over the edge of the bed and was just able to make out a black blur on the ground. That's when I noticed it.

Charlie wasn't standing on or holding on to the ladder. I lifted my head up and saw his wings beating in perfect unison, keeping him from plummeting to the ground. Fiery feathers illuminated by the sun and streaked with gold and orange accents made his wings living, moving, breathing fire.

_Are you gonna keep staring at them or are you gonna get out of bed?_

I looked to his face and noticed his head slightly turned to one side with a smirk. He laughed, hovered down to the floor, and left my room with an echoing slam of the door.

Not five minutes after he left, I was out of the room, going to the bathroom. As I began my shower, I reminisced on the fact that mom had said we were going to have another talk. I could feel the shivers running down my back.

After the shower, I dressed. I threw on a plain blue shirt and some semi-worn blue jeans. The fog from the mirror had cleared up some and I could see myself. I just stared for a few minutes. My eyes were weird. A quick look at them and they were brown - anyone would agree. Yet, they were a black colorlessness. It's odd, as whenever I look to the mirror, I could see the brown in them more clearly. I felt my mouth open, and I studied my teeth. My fangs were noticeable, but just barely. My stomach began turning, and my head swirled with the memories of yesterday's events. I could feel my hunger rising again and stifled a moan.

I threw some water on my face and slightly stumbled out of the bathroom. I began walking from the third floor to the feeders held in the basement. Mom was still in her room, from the sounds I heard from across the hall. When I got downstairs, I could make out my dad's figure by the...the servant quarters. I continued to the basement. I had a feeling I looked like a drunk walking around, uncoordinated and unbalanced, tripping over my own feet.

The closer I got to the basement, the more I thought about what had happened. It was only a good thing Mom taught me how to control my feeding, even if I almost drained the whole person as I did last night after dinner.

I finally made it to the basement. The polished brown door opened, and I walked down the stairs. I could hear the blood pumping through their veins. The smell override my nose, and my mouth started to water. I went to the nearest cubicle. It was the size of four or five walk-in closets. The person there was a boy. He looked a little younger than me, around twelve or thirteen. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and a weird look on his face. He looked like a druggie waiting to get his next fix...from me.

I took a deep breath and went over to him. I bit his neck. Blood rushed into my mouth. Instantly, my hunger was satisfied, and I was full. My stomach growled. I sighed. I was hungry for some real food.

I went back up the stairs after cleaning the blood off, and the smell of bacon drifted towards me. My mom was sitting next to my dad, and Mama C (Cassie) was cooking breakfast. I snatched a piece of fried meat as I mumbled my good-mornings and hellos.

"Joanna!" my mom said and swatted at my hand.

"Mom!" I whined.

"You're not supposed to steal food," my mom scolded.

I growled slightly.

"Well, I can't put it back, since I already took a bite out of it," I returned.

"Are you trying to be a smart mouth with me?" my mom asked with a hint of rising anger.

I shook my head, saying, "No."

"Where's Reily?" I asked.

"Still in her room, I believe. Tell her she's gonna miss breakfast if she isn't here soon," Mama C said.

I nodded, snatched up two more pieces of bacon, and ran out the back door towards Reily's house.

I sprinted through the backyard, straight to the largest (and only) house near ours. It was white, and way smaller than my house.

My house was at least four stories tall, not including the basement, which was two floors. My house actually seems bigger than it is. It looks like it had more floors than it does. However, the house I'm looking at only seemed to have two floors. It might have a basement, since it's supposed to be modeled after mine. Behind the house I could see the Luxphyte fields. I could see the...the slaves working there. Most were adults. They were cutting at stalks of thick grass, like bamboo, that had electricity running through them. The stalks were as tall as children. I could see another building behind it. It reminded me of a small factory, not only because of its height or its color, but because of the smoke coming from it.

I knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called out.

I opened the door. Joi's dad was buttoning the last couple of buttons on his shirt.

"Hello, Miss Joi," he said.

"Um...hi. Where's Reily?" I replied, coming in and looking around the living room.

"She's upstairs in her room, first door on the left," he answered.

I walked up the stairs. The only door that was ajar was the first one on the left. Reily's name was scrawled on a plaque. It was written the same way it was when we were young. The 'R' and 'Y' were written backwards, as if a little kid had done it. It was the same color as the door. Both were the old-fashioned chalkboard green. The hue clashed with the sterile white of the house. I could hear voices come from inside. I peeked inside and saw Charlie and Reily.

"Why? Why are you acting like this, Charlie?" Reily pleaded.

"Like what?" Charlie responded.

"Everything! You just dump all of us on a door step! You drop us a note saying you're leaving, and afterwards don't give us a head's notice unless you need something from us!" Reily yelled.

"I have to. I can't recognize you in public. Unless I need you," he answered in an angry, quiet voice.

"Why? Just answer me why," Reily said, growing exasperated.

"Because that's how they want the world to work."

"They who?"

"The Society! They want the world to work the way they say it. And if you don't abide by it, you'll make your descendants regret it for you," Charlie answered finally.

There was an eerie silence.

"Get out! GET OUT! GET OUT, CHARLIE! I SAID GET OUT, CHARLES!" Reily yelled.

The door flew opened. Charlie stormed out. He looked down at me, pushing me into the wall.

"Stop spying on me!" he half-whispered, half-growled.

I could see his fangs as he said it. He oddly resembled my dad when he had one of his rare, fleeting scolding moments.

My mouth felt dry, but I felt the words come out anyways.

"I wasn't spying on you."

He gave me a look of disgust, anger, frustration, and something I can't put my finger on.

"Keep believing that," he said, and without another word, he left.

Reily poked her head out the door. She gave a slight sheepish smile.

"Um...your mom says come for breakfast or you won't eat," I said.

We walked down the stairs and exited the house.

"So, how much did you hear?" Reily asked.

"Not much, just you yelling 'get out'." I replied

"Oh..." She replied, her voice getting softer, as if she was disappointed.

We entered the house in awkward but thoughtful silence. On the kitchen table, there was a breakfast feast. Food covered the table.

"This is not humanly possible," I said.

"Maybe it's superhumanly possible," Reily suggested.

"No, it's not superhumanly possible or zombiecly or vampiricly or angellicly or ghosticly or demonicly or any other paranormal creature-ly possible. What we are seeing is something that should not exist. Ever," I replied.

"Stop making a mountain out of a molehill," Reily protested.

"Hey, that's my line!" I joked.

We burst out laughing, beginning to relax in a way we hadn't in the past couple of days. We took our seats at the table and dug in.

* * *

><p>After Breakfast<p>

* * *

><p>I got up from the table and put my dish in the sink.<p>

_"Joi."_

I heard. I looked around.  
><em><br>"Dear, I'm talking to you telepathically."_

_"Mom?"_

_"Yes?"_

she answered.

_"N...nothing."_

_"Meet me in the second guest room on the right, and bring Reily."_

_"Uh...sure_."

I tapped Reily on the shoulders. She was washing the dishes.

"You're finally done?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "You're taking a break."

"Uh...okay."

I took her hand and began leading her upstairs. We went up a flight of stairs, turned down the hall, and made a right at the second door. Ruby opened the door for us. In the room was my mom, Mama C, Ruby, Chrys, Henry, and Charlie.

The room had no TVs or any other modern appliances. It had a fireplace and a picture above it. No, a painting of two families. I didn't recognize anyone, except for the two girls, who looked like me and Reily.

"You guys do resemble one another," I heard my mom say.

"Very strongly," Mama C added.

Reily was standing next to me, in front of the fireplace. She, too, was staring at it. Ruby and Chrys where sitting on the floor, looking between us and the painting. Charlie and Henry were mesmerized with the statement that mom had made and were staring at the painting. They were on a couch next to the two reclining chairs Mom and Mama C were sitting in.

"Are you and Mistress Helena related to them?" Chrys asked.

"Yes, we are. The nought girl is my great-grandmother, Amethyst. The Arch girl is Helena's great-grandmother, Katrina," Mama C answered.

"What about the other people in the picture?" Chrys asked.

"The Arch couple is Katrina's parents and the two boys are her older brothers. The nought couple is Amethyst's parents," Mom replied.

"Does this relate to why we're here?" Charlie inquired.

"Yes. Because of what happened with them both, The Society and V hunters always have eyes on us," Mama C answered.

"V hunters, too!" Henry and Charlie gasped in what sounded like surprise.

"What are V hunters and The Society?" Reily asked.

"Why do they keep an eye on us?" I questioned.

"How does it relate to us?" Ruby and Chrys asked.

Mom and Mama C looked at each other than back at us with bored, and maybe even exasperated expressions.

"We'll get to that," they answered in unison.

"The reason V hunters and The Society keep an eye on us is because-"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Mom said.

My dad entered.

"Charne and Ellis are here. And by the looks of it, they are very impatient," he said.

Mom and Mama C looked at each other and sighed.

"Joi, Reily, come on. We're going out. Ruby and Chrys, you are dismissed. We'll finish our talk later," Mom said as she got up.  
><em><br>"And one more thing: Don't speak about this to anyone else or outside of this room. Understand?"  
><em>  
>Mom continued telepathically.<p>

We nodded our heads in unison. Reily and I got up and left after my mom with Mama C following behind. We ran downstairs, grabbed our coats, and put on our shoes. Outside was a limo, and standing in front of it were a woman and a girl.

They were both arches.

"Hi, Helen. How are you?" the woman asked.

"Fine, and you, Charne?" Mom answered.

"Fine," she replied.

"You girls get in," Charne said to us.

Reily, the other girl, and I entered the limo. There was a nought girl inside. She had dark hair and eyes.

"I'm Ellis, and this is Gem," the arch girl, Ellis, introduced herself and the nought.

"Hi. I'm Joi and this is Reily," I replied.

Gem and Ellis gave me surprised looks.

"Her name can't actually be Reily! Can it?" she said, her voice sounding a lot meaner than before.

I pressed my lips tightly together and went to speak.

"It's Reinstone, actually." Reily said before any words could leave my lips

I gave her _what-are-you-doing look_ and she replied with one of her _I-know-what-I'm-doing looks._

"Do you know where we're going," I asked.

"Yeah! Mom said we're getting our hair done and going shopping," Ellis answered.

The adults joined us in the limo and we began driving to wherever we were going. We parked in a gigantic mall parking lot. The mall was the size of a small amusement park, and the parking lot was about twice the size of the area the mall covered. We exited the car and made our way inside. We went up about five floors and entered the first shop on the left. A hair salon.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

***= Five feet is about 152 centimeters**

****= Three inches about 7 or 8 centimeters**


	9. Arc II: Part V

Alyera,Fall of 2008

Reily pov

The mall was huge. I looked over a railing and could see at least four flights down to the ground floor. Everything seemed like the inside of a castle. The walls had a glassy golden color and there was a gigantic chandelier on the ceiling.

The hair salon was huge. It look up half of the whole floor. The sign said, 'In the Garden of Evelyn'. Below it were the words 'Hair Salon', and, under that, a smaller sign in the window read, 'Arches and Duos Only'. I stopped walking.

_I'm a nought - and I'm not supposed to be here._

"Come on, Reily," Joi called out to me.

I felt my feet move my legs, and my legs did the same to the rest of my body. I entered. The inside of the salon was way bigger than the outside of it. You could see steps leading downstairs and two more flights leading upstairs. You could tell they had been busy, at least earlier. They had some customers, and the workers that weren't working on hair were running up and down the stairs with boxes. An arch walked up to us. She smiled, and her eyes were a deep yellow. Her hair was a light brown, almost blond color, and it was braided all the way to her back.

"Hello," she said. "And welcome to In the Garden of Evelyn. How may I help you?"

"My daughter and her friend need to get their hair done," Miss Charne said.

The lady turned in our direction. Shock registered in her eyes as she looked at us, but it disappeared almost immediately, and she said in a sickly sweet voice, "Hello, girls. Do you know how you want your hair to be done?"  
>Ellis nodded and Joi shook her head.<p>

"Well, why don't you girls flip through these magazines and get an idea of what you want, and I'll talk to your moms for a sec. Okay?" she counted in the same tone.

They nodded their heads, and we sat down on a couch. Ellis and Joi sat next to each other, I on Joi's right and Gem on Ellis' left. They began flipping through the glossy pages, studying various hairstyles, from braids and twists to straight and curled, casual to formal and everything in between.  
>They all had oddly colored eyes. No one had eyes that were brown, green, or blue.<br>Before I could stop myself, I asked,

"Why are their eyes so weird?"

"They're not weird!" Ellis retorted. "They're beautiful, unique, and exquisite. They're better than plain old blue, green, or brown eyes. Those colors are the mark of children. That's what noughts are, children and animals. Servants are children and slaves are animals. It's the reason we, arches rule: children need to be cared for and animals live on pure instinct. Of course," she finished.

"Of course, Miss Ellis. Miss Ellis is always right." Gem chirped in a strange voice. "Miss Joi, you should really listen to Miss Ellis. Since you're from Mylera and all, you need to know how to act and such. And, I mean, you couldn't find a better teacher than Ellis."

Joi stared at her blankly, gaping.

Gem quickly added, "I don't mean any offense, of course, Miss Joi. If I did offend you, I'm very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry."

"Um...it's okay, Gem. You didn't have to say that many sorrys," Joi said.

"Girls, do you know what you want, yet?" the Arch lady asked, arriving back at our couch.

"Yes, ma'am, I do," Ellis said.

"And what about you?" the lady asked Joi.

Joi looked up at her. "I don't really know."

"If you don't mind, I have one hairstyle in particular you might like," she responded.

"I'd like to see it," Joi replied.

She grabbed a magazine off the table and began flipping through it. She stopped at a picture of a woman around 20. Her hair was twisted into long braids that went down her back, and around them was a crown of braided hair. On one side, a diamond incrusted flower was twisted into the crown. Joi stared and gasped.

"It's beautiful. I love it. I want that hairstyle," she said.

"Of course. Would you mind if I do it personally? It has been a long time since I've done the hair of royalty," the lady said.

"Royalty?" Joi asked, flabbergasted.

"Well, with those eyes, I just thought you were royalty," the hair stylist said.

"My eyes?"

"Yes, purple, red, and pink eyes with a hint of child's mark are the mark of royalty, at least in girls. Boys just have immense power, as their female counterparts have as well," the lady continued.

"Well, of course she's royalty. Just look at her. On top of that her name is Joi," Ellis said obviously.  
>Joi's eyes lit up.<p>

"Joi? Is that short for Joanna?" the lady asked

Joi looked up at her and smiled.

"Yes, yes it is," she replied.

I turned my head to see her mother looking at her. Her mother was on the other side of the room with Miss Charne and my mom. They were all looking at us. Watching us. Her mother looked at me.

_Get her to shut up._

Miss Helena's voice echoed in my head.

_What?_

_Get Joi to be quiet. _

I nodded, cleared my throat, and said, "M...Miss Joi. You should really get your hair done. I mean, you haven't even started and it takes a while to do it. Also, we have a lot of other things to do, you know, like...getting clothes," I ended.

I felt disgusted. Admitting Joi was above me was...sickening.

"She is right, you know. You have to get your school supplies and clothes. School starts in a little more than a week," Gem added quickly.

"Your sla- servants make good points, **Tvo'je** Joanna," the lady said.

"Princess? I'm not a princess," Joi exclaimed in shock.

"I wished I had sensed it earlier. You're her. You're one of the princesses of the fifty-two royal families." The lady said, with a hint of what sounded like bitterness and disappointment.

"I'm not a princess," Joi said with rising anger.

"Whatever you say, **Tvo'je **Joanna," the lady said as she dropped the subject. She led Joi to a chair and began to do her hair

* * *

><p>Joi<p>

Princess stuff aside, I actually enjoyed myself. After the lady finished, she wanted to put the flower in my hair personally and give me something. She came out of a storage closet, and in her hands were a few small boxes.  
>In one box were the diamond incrusted (super realistic) flowers. She placed the violet one in my hair. She said that was because it matched my eyes. In the other box was something that was, the lady had said, 'for a later, more appropriate time.<p>

She smiled at me and my mom, her expression sad, bitter, and sweet. She then left to help another client.  
>We left the hair salon and went to a small yet well-sized shop. It sold weird outfits. The girls' section had these dresses that resembled ones from the Victorian era, except they were shorter and had to be worn with some kind of bottoms. I noticed Reily shifting uncomfortably.<p>

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I...I'm okay. I just have a weird feeling about this place. That's all," she replied.  
>I nodded.<p>

"Miss Joi, how about this?" Gem suggested, holding up a shirt on a hanger in one hand and a pair of pants in another.

"Nah. No thanks" I said. "Reily, do you have anything for me?"

"I found this," she said as she held up a cute shirt and a miniskirt.

"You know what our moms will say to that. You know _'no'. _So put it back," I replied.

"Do I have to? It's so cuuute," Reily pleaded.

"Young lady," a voice said from nowhere.

A woman walked up to us. She was duo. Her hair was a light auburn, and she eyes were a mixture of golden, green and silver. Her lips were pressed tightly together in a frown.

"How dare you! Trying to corrupt a sweet, young Tvo'je. I mean, really. Just because you're a nought doesn't mean you have to go and destroy everything. Just because you see things in a child's view doesn't mean you have to wreck everything in your path, for your own amusement," the lady scolded.

"Um...thanks, ma'am, but I already had it under control," I said.

"Oh, sorry. Silly me. Then I'll be out of your hair," she said in an very respectful tone.

"Reily-" I started.

She looked like she was going to cry. She ran off in the direction of the bathroom. I started to go after her, but Ellis stopped me.

"Don't worry about her. It was only a matter of time before she got put in her rightful place," Ellis said haughtily.

I pressed my lips together to avoid beginning a fight.

"Miss Joi, how about this?" Gem suggested, momentarily distracting me from my thoughts. She was holding up a dress on a hanger in one hand and a pair of pants in the other.

The dress was mostly various shades of blue, but the cuffs were black, and it was accented in subtle yet shining silver. The style of it had an odd gothic lolita feel, with a hint of regality as well. The jeans were normal enough, though. They were dark blue, and black and sliver thread outlined the pockets. It had a tiara design on one of the back pockets.

"Thanks, Gem," I said, nodding. I took the clothes from her.

"Uh...where's the bath-changing room?" I asked.

"Oh. I'll show you." Ellis offered. I shot her a weird look, but followed. We told our moms where we were going, then left. We passed Reily, who was going back to meet up with Gem on a bench a few feet from the rooms. The changing rooms had doors that were ranch-style and painted a light greenish-blue. Inside, it looked like a run-of-the-mill changing room. I slipped the clothes on. My breath stopped when I looked in the mirror. I was beautiful.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Um...yes?" I called.

"**Joanna, yat te'ti'le,"** Mom said, asking me to come out.

"**Si'c Mima,"** I consented, feeling the foreign, yet familiar words come out of my mouth.

I opened the door as images began to flash through my head. People...my family, blood...death, gunshots, bullets, shattered glass, yelling, screaming, English, and the other language. Emotions grew as more and more things flickered through.

Then I remembered...

Everything.

I feel my throat tighten up as the emotion of it all runs through me. I fall to my knees. A hand at my chest, holding on for dear life. Reily tries to rush to my aid, but Gem stops her. My vision begins to blur and there's a ringing in my ears and the sweet darkness takes me away in her gentle, warm arms.

But the last thing I hear is:

**"Yace'rus!"**

_Assassin. _

My last thought is that there's an assassin, and I'm going to die.

A few hours later

I jolted out of bed. Well...actually...a couch.

_Where am I? Wait, oh! I'm in my house_, I thought.

"Joi, you're awake!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Joi, are you alright?" Henry asked with great concern and alarm, it seemed.

I felt wet on my face and tasted something salty. I touched my hand to my face — I was crying. I felt confused...and sad. Very, very sad.

"Joanna, what's wrong?" Charlie asked with his usual urgent and demanding tone, yet there was something different about it.

I looked up at him. His eyes were a golden, fiery orange like his wings. They were filled with so many emotions, I couldn't name them or count them or any combination of both. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, only very soft sobs. Then I saw it.

_A girl no older than 11 or 12. She was an arch and had deep violet eyes and hair braided into pigtails with big fluffy puffs. She was smiling and swinging on a swing._

_"Come on, Joi. You may be my soer'min, but that doesn't mean I have to teach you anything about swinging on a swing," she said._

"I can't believe I-I-I...I...I...f-forgot my...my own soer'sen," I said with sobs breaking out of me every other second.

I buried my head in Charlie's chest. My hands clenched into fists, grabbing his shirt. I began to cry as I felt a hurricane of emotions come with every breath I took. I remembered my past. I remembered growing up here, meeting Reily, the Incidents and what happened afterward, flee- no, moving to Mylera. I rembered kindergarden, I rembered the therapists, the meds, and more.

My body wouldn't stop shaking, my throat felt tighter and tighter. Soon I was gasping for air.

"Shhh. Shhh," Charlie repeated.

"It's okay, it's okay," Henry whispered over and over again, rubbing my back.

The door creaked open. I could hear the intakes of breath from surprise.

"Your mom said she wants one of you boys downstairs," I heard Reily say.

"I'll go. You stay with her, Charlie," Henry said.

There were a few minutes of odd silence.

"What are you standing there for?" Charlie asked.

"I'll be leaving now, then," Reily replied.

The door creaked closed. My cry had quieted down to soft whimpering.

"It won't stop," I said softly.

"Please...stop trying to remember it," he pleaded.

"I can't," I say in a whisper.

"I know it's hard. Very hard. But you have to, or you're not going to get better, and it's not going to stop," Charlie said.  
>"Does it still hurt? I mean, when you think about it?" I asked him.<p>

He pulled me away from him and looked deep into my eyes. Everything on his face said 'hurt', and something else. He took a deep breath.

"Every single time. But...it does get easier to think about it," he replied.

"Promise?" I said in a small voice.

"I promise," he said, wrapping me in a hug.

I believed him, but something didn't sit right with me. I looked at the door as it opened. My vision began to blur, but I saw two girls walk in. One was an arch, and the other was a nought. I knew them. One was my great-great-grandmother and the other was Reily's great-great-grandmother. _They're ghosts_. Those were my last thoughts as I fell asleep in my **fra'sen's** arms.


End file.
